The third Timewyrm book awaits! However, it just might be alright to skip this book...
Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Timewyrm: Apocalypse
Written by Nigel Robinson
As I went into the third Timewyrm
book, Apocalypse, I was excited and
optimistic. The previous two books were wrothy of high praise, so of course I’d
have high hopes for the third. Things didn’t go so smoothly though as I made my
way through this novel. What should have been another gripping and amazing
story in the Timewyrm arc, feels like it would have been better suited as its
own separate story. While not plummeting to the nether world of bad Doctor Who books,
it barely keeps itself afloat towards the end as a decent adventure.
Apocalypse has the Doctor and Ace once
again hot on the trail of the elusive Timewyrm. Their pursuit leads them far
into the future to the planet Kirith. Kirith is a happy go lucky planet. Things
are wonderful for its inhabitants. They’re always happy and whatever they may
want is provided for them. No one questions their society or higher ups and
everyone is healthy and attractive, living well above a normal life span for a humanoid.
Kirith is pretty much utopia for everyone who lives there. The Doctor and Ace
are welcomed with much hospitality, but of course our heroes are cautious,
because the more perfect something is, the viler a danger that lurks in the
shadows. Not to mention they came to this planet seeking out the Timewyrm and
that in itself is something to be cautious about.
This book has a very solid first
half. The introduction chapter in this book that seems to thus far start off
all the New Adventure is really strong in Apocalypse.
Introducing a young man’s story of being
allowed into higher society, while also explaining his alien world’s principles
and social structure helps set the stage for the entire book. The horrifying
end to this introduction also leaves one with a few questions as to what may be
going on behind the scenes in this seemingly peaceful society while also making
one a bit cautious as they venture further into the book. Going in a bit
further, while not awfully adventurous or exciting at first, the start is
rather interesting. Introducing a good handful of characters from different
walks of life in this perfect alien world helps form a more vibrant picture of
how planet’s inhabitants function in their day to day life. Everyone is
supposed to be happy and not ask questions. Clearly though some people aren’t
happy and some have more than just a few questions, but the weight of society
keeps them in check, for the most part. Of course, the Doctor and Ace have
arrived and slowly things get thrown into turmoil. Secrets are starting to
surface and even more questions are raised as our slow, but fascinating, start
is building momentum. It’s not too long after the start that we’re introduced
to a horrifying lab with disgusting abominations abounds inside large test
tubes. From this point on the book is full of action and things start to move
along quickly.
However,
it’s in the last quarter of the book where things begin to falter. I dare say
things seem to move a little too fast now. A slow start quickly transforms into
something going too fast for its own good. Someone needs to slam on the breaks
and find a nice happy pace where I don’t feel like I’m spending minutes in a
situation that would benefit from some deeper exploration. A quick revelation
or action packed escape and then we’re thrown into the next segment. While in
the start things are slow and we spend a lot of time exploring each area we’re
introduced too, we’re now being rushed through these new places with little
chance to get a feeling for them. We have deep exploration of the main city, at
the start, but we get little to no exploration of the all-important island that
rules over the entire planet. The revelation at the end of the book feels bland
and unexplored. I actually feel like the big twist at the end is pretty boring.
I rolled my eyes when I discovered it, as I found it a little cliché. By the
end of the book I felt like this could have simply been a non-Timewyrm story
with a little tweaking.
Ace was
rather prominent in this book compared to the previous two. In ways it felt
more like an Ace adventure rather than a Doctor and Ace adventure. I feel as if
Ace brought things a bit more together throughout the course of the book, with
the Doctor only taking center stage at the end. I’m not complaining though, the
focus on Ace helped get me through some of the tougher parts of the books as I
made my way to the climax. I do enjoy Ace quite a bit; she’s one of my favorite
companions. Really, who doesn’t love a brash woman with high explosives?
The book could have done with an
extra 50 pages towards the end to simply spread things out for the conclusion.
The slow start had me worried but I found myself enjoying the first half, but
having the speed cranked up later on really took me out of it. What could have
been a pleasant addition to the Timewyrm arc, stumbles in hastily towards the
end causing it to fall a little flat. Even just focusing on the start of the
book, it’s in no way an amazing or gripping read, but it is a pleasant little
adventure. There were some inclusions of flash backs of the second Doctor that
were fun, but a little too brief. Patrick Troughton is my favorite Doctor so
having any scenes with him was a bit of a treat for me. I’m enjoying that the New Adventures gently
incorporate previous incarnations of the Doctor. Sadly though, it didn’t help
to save this book. By the end I just wanted it to be over and to get onto the
next book in the series.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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